NFL Rumors: Are San Diego Chargers ready to trust Ryan Mathews?

By Gil Alcaraz IV

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Since the San Diego Chargers drafted him in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, running back Ryan Mathews has had an up-and-down career.

Amidst injuries and fumble woes, Mathews has struggled to hold onto his standing as the Chargers’ starting running back. Even with the high expectations and large amount of assets that they used to get him, San Diego has been hesitant to pile a full workload onto his shoulders after his return from a clavicle fracture.

Despite the obvious fact that he’s the best runner on the roster, Mathews has yet to regain the trust of the coaching staff. Even though he carried the majority of the load in the Chargers’ Week 5 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Mathews surrendered snaps to Ronnie Brown on the final drive of the game. Point being: his issues have left the San Diego coaches questioning his reliability in key situations.

Putting all previous concerns aside, it appears that the Chargers are willing to give their former first-rounder another chance to prove his worth.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, signs are pointing to Mathews getting the start on Monday night when the Chargers host the Denver Broncos.

As this season wears on, expect Mathews’ performances to have a huge impact on his future with the team. After so many letdowns, it’s likely that the Chargers will consider taking a different route if he continues to display the tremendous inconsistency that has plagued his first few years in the NFL. For now, though, he appears to have earned enough trust to get his starting spot back.

The potential is there for Mathews to develop into one of the league’s top running backs. The only remaining question is when – or if – it’ll ever happen.